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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — the month
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. press — a publisher
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. clip — to cut
  11. press — to push
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — a match
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tear — to rip
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. march — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com